DE Connor Barwin can safely be called a work in progress, having played only one season at defensive end at the University of Cincinnati, but Texans assistant head coach/defensive line Bill Kollar told PFW that the transition from college to the NFL for any young defensive lineman is challenging — and that playing freely and instinctively without overthinking is one of the first hurdles to overcome. “It happens right when you are a rookie,” Kollar noted, noting that a young lineman has so much information to process, from learning a different set of defensive terminology to playing with new technique. Barwin cannot practice with the Texans until his class graduates from the University of Cincinnati on June 12-13, but Kollar likes what he previously has seen from Houston’s second-round pick, who played tight end for three seasons before switching to defense. “For what he did last year in college, he did a pretty good job rushing the passer just one year,” Kollar told PFW. “He (showed) a lot of ability that year. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work to improve his technique.”

RipTraxx

05-22-2009, 03:38 PM

With a guy like Kollar at the helm...i have no doubts. Barwins athleticism reminds me of a small mario.

nunusguy

05-22-2009, 03:40 PM

“For what he did last year in college, he did a pretty good job rushing the passer just one year,” Kollar told PFW. “He (showed) a lot of ability that year. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work to improve his technique.”
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Make no mistake about it, Barwin is a project and that's why I like Kollars inhibited expectations. After all he's probably no dummy and Barwin will be his own little personal project to get up and running so no point putting any more pressure on himself than necessary since NFL teams don't use second-round picks for nuttin.

RipTraxx

05-22-2009, 03:42 PM

“For what he did last year in college, he did a pretty good job rushing the passer just one year,” Kollar told PFW. “He (showed) a lot of ability that year. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work to improve his technique.”
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Make no mistake about it, Barwin is a project and that's why I like Kollars inhibited expectations. After all he's probably no dummy and Barwin will be his own little personal project to get up and running so no point putting any more pressure on himself than necessary since NFL teams don't use second-round picks for nuttin.

Mario was pretty raw coming out of college. He didnt really step on the scene until his junior year.

nunusguy

05-22-2009, 07:18 PM

Mario was pretty raw coming out of college. He didnt really step on the scene until his junior year.
Right but Barwin didn't have a junior year, actually didn't even have a sophomore year as far as being a DE goes.